Page 55 of The Best Trick

“He could be just grabbing for an explanation,” Thor suggested. “People like to create stories to explain behavior they don’t like. Maybe that’s his story and he wants everybody to think it.”

“He seems a little bit like a control freak that way,” Odin said. “But there’s something more. Something hidden. Is he maybe less upset about this whole thing than he's letting on? Have the brothers always been in competition, and he's thrilled to have finally won, but he doesn't want to come out and act like that? He's holding something back for sure, but we need to concentrate on the main question—is this a man who breaks into a federal agent’s high-security condo, kidnaps a large dog, and then runs a sophisticated blackmailing operation?”

“I'm thinking not,” I said.

“Same,” Odin sighed. “And even if he did have the guts and the smarts to do it, is this a man who'd put it all on the line to protect his brother?”

“If anything, I'd imagine he's looking forward to grabbing some of the business his brother's shop had,” Zeus pointed out.

“Either way, we need to get the story on Wilson's gambling habit,” Odin said. “Let's see if Harold called it. Was it gambling that caused Wilson to turn to the mob? And did he gamble enough that somebody wants him out of witness protection? Walking free where they can get access to him and his money?”

“The brother did seem cagey,” I said, “just like Clarice. Is everybody just up to something?”

“Listen to you all sad and jaded,” Thor said, giving me shit as only he could. “What is happening with the world? Everybody’s up to something!” he teased.

“What?” I protested. “It’s sad.”

“We are totally up to something,” Thor said. “We’re up to way the hell more than Harold and Clarice will ever be up to.”

“That's for sure,” I said proudly, relaxing into the comfy Jag seating array.

“We need to keep an open mind about everybody,” Odin said. “It's all just words so far. Stories people have spun that may or may not be true.”

Zeus kept looking in the rearview mirror. “I don't like this. I feel like I keep seeing the same cars. I feel like we've had a tail for a while now.”

“Hmm,” Odin said, checking the side mirror. “Agent Alfred?”

Zeus grumbled. He didn’t like that at all. “We'll ditch this car and take an Uber back to the Airbnb and figure it out.”

The next twenty minutes was an odyssey of slipping the tail, which involved fake-evasive driving, then parking in the lot of a motel, breaking into an empty motel room, and slipping out the back. We crossed a road and headed into a gas station to call an Uber.

After a stop to pick up stone-fired pizzas, we arrived back at the Newsomes’ Malibu home away from home for a relaxing evening on the outdoor patio. We had our disguises on in a half-assed way, just being vigilant in case people peeped, though Zeus and Thor both wore hats instead of dealing with that part.

Everything was relaxing and fun, until Odin’s phone started buzzing like crazy.

My guys sat up, staring at the phone, and just like that, they had guns in their hands. I should’ve been used to it, but it was still a little weird to be hanging out on the patio cooking food and loafing around, and suddenly you find out your companions are heavily armed.

“If you don't want to talk to anybody, just send it to voicemail,” I joked feebly.

“That's my perimeter alarm,” Odin said ominously. “Somebody's here, Ice. Somebody’s inside.”

I sat up. Damn! Had we not lost our tail after all? Thor grabbed my hand and pulled me to the edge of the property behind a boulder. “Stay here,” he whispered, handing me his gun.

My pulse whooshed in my ears. “You keep it.”

“Don’t argue.” He was picking stones off the ground and filling his pockets. “Damn. If somebody knows where we’re staying, this’ll be bad.”

“Dude, seriously? Stones?” I hissed, trying to hand him the gun.

“I’m gonna be distracting whoever it is with these, drawing them out.” With that, he disappeared.

I waited. The moments drew out long. Wind whistled. Surf crashed in the distance. And then I heard laughter—a woman’s laughter. Sue’s laughter.

What was Sue laughing about? Was she dangerous?

I snuck toward the house, gun in hand with a towel draped over it. Stealthily I peeped in the window.

Sue was standing in the middle of the living room with a fresh stack of towels talking to the guys. Zeus caught my eye and shook his head. What did that mean? No danger? Or stay away?

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